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juushikaBLUEBEARD (GC, Diabolus)
A scent swirling with dark rage, unbridled jealousy, and murderous intent. Violet, lavender, white musk and vetiver.
In the vial: Smoky lavender.
On me: Goes on the skin with vetiver up front—the sharp sort, not the smooth sort, more like cinders than smoke—with a bit of almost sweet white musk in the background and lavender in the middle. The vetiver calms during drydown and then ramps up again in the first hour or two, giving the scent a warmer, more potent, and more threatening vibe, but on the whole this is a surprisingly lovely, subtly masculine, powdery floral. The florals (the violet comes out after drydown, and violet and lavender meld together) have a purple cast and a dried blossom feel; their slight powderyness makes Bluebeard more than another cologne scent. It's not a particularly complex blend, but the notes work in lovely tandem. At the tail end of wear it grows a little more like cologne, which is too bad—not because it's a strong shift, but because it strips away what makes the scent unique. Throw is low, wear length is about four hours.
Verdict: Well done, surprisingly subtle, unique, but not my style—Bluebeard doesn't capture my imagination or my heart. It was nice to try, and now it's destined for swaps.
LES FLEURS du MAL (GC, Ars Moriendi)
The scents of the blossoms of darkness, condensed into one perfume. Features a rose base, softened with lilac and wisteria.
In the vial: ....floral?
On me: Goes on as a dusty, dull, pastel floral. The rose opens up during drydown and only continues to amp—as rose always does on me—but the other flowers add a powdery note on top, which softens but never quite complicates the rose. Not at all dark, this has a pinkish old-guest-soap-by-the-sink feel, a little powdery, a little grandmaish.
Verdict: Rose is one of my death notes and predominant florals aren't my style, so of course this doesn't work. The other notes keep the rose from attaining screaming levels on my skin, but this is still all rose all the time. One for the swaps.
MILK CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM (LE, Lupercalia 2009: Box of Chocolates)
Gift from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sisterite.
In the vial: Fruitiness (cherry?) and chocolate—of the El Dia de los Reyes variety, powdery and milky.
On me: Starts out a bit bitter—whipped butter, not sweet enough to be icing, with a ghost of red fruitiness and a bare implication of powdery chocolate. It takes about half an hour for the scent to grow into what it's meant to be: a sugary milk chocolate haze, with a touch of powder and a hint of cherry, and some buttery richness at skin level. The chocolate is akin to the cocoa in El Dia de Reyes. It's pretty accurate but not particularly enjoyable—this isn't handmade buttercream; it's a tub of premading frosting. Scent-color is milk chocolate. Throw is moderate to high.
Verdict: I hate milk chocolate and dislike frosting, so even at its best it's unlikely that Milk Chocolate Buttercream would have worked for me. Post-drydown, the scent is pretty accurate—but personal taste aside, it doesn't quite have the luscious indulgent quality I'd expect; the chocolate leans powdery, the butter can be stale, I have no idea where the cherry comes from, but most of all it doesn't have a handmade, high-quality buttercream feel. This is a one for the swaps, in the hope that it'll work better on someone else.
THE DEATH OF AUTUMN (LE, Halloween 2007)
Dark amber, dead leaves, khus, saffron, bitter clove, chrysanthemum, camellia, galangal, and a drop of oud.
In the vial: The dark scent of leaf litter and smoke.
On me: Resins and saffron come out on application, followed by smoke and clove—and then dead leaves, and a touch of floral. It's a spicy, dark, organic scent, cloves and leaf litter, warm and smoky, with something almost citric, golden and sweet, at its heart. The citric/floral note makes for a more wearable scent, and well compliments the clove, but it also makes The Death of Autumn less deep and dark than it original appears, which is a little disappointing. After a few hours the scent grows more traditionally dark sweet autumnal BPAL: the cloves fade and there's a boozy wetness, dark and resinous and sweet; it's lovely, but not nearly as unique. Scent-color is golden brown. Throw is moderate high, and wear length is long.
Verdict: The Death of Autumn goes on as a thing of beauty, a dark walk in an autumn forest, resinous and organic, smoky and spicy—but it loses itself along the way. The golden heat it develops is lovely, but not as dark and bold as its earlier stages; the resinous sweetness it has near the end is pretty traditional BPAL, dark and palatable, but familiar. Its not a bad scent on the whole, but I'm sad to see it morph. Still I think I'll keep it, and try to adjust my expectations to enjoy the bulk of the scent rather than mourning the loss of its drydown.
ELF (LE, RPG)
Pale golden musk, honeycomb, amber, parma violet, hawthorne bark, aspen leaf, forest lily, life everlasting, white moss, and a hint of wild berry.
A fairy giveaway fromcrystal_star_ss.
In the vial: Clean, dry woodiness with a hint of fruit/floral.
On me: A thin, woody, masculine scent. When it goes on it's just barely touched by berry, but the berry amps during drydown—which may be a product on my skin chemistry. It's a dry red scent, masculine, just a touch sweet, blonde wood and berry—but still redder and fuller than I'd expect from the inspiration: the berry is strong and out of place. At times there's a slight cologne-y aspect. Scent-color is luminescent red. Throw is moderate low, and wear length is short.
Verdict: My skin loves berry a little too much, and that may be what sours Elf for me. It's too vibrant, too red, overshadowing the other notes and deviating from the inspiration. Regardless, this scent isn't my style. I'll pass along my imp.
A scent swirling with dark rage, unbridled jealousy, and murderous intent. Violet, lavender, white musk and vetiver.
In the vial: Smoky lavender.
On me: Goes on the skin with vetiver up front—the sharp sort, not the smooth sort, more like cinders than smoke—with a bit of almost sweet white musk in the background and lavender in the middle. The vetiver calms during drydown and then ramps up again in the first hour or two, giving the scent a warmer, more potent, and more threatening vibe, but on the whole this is a surprisingly lovely, subtly masculine, powdery floral. The florals (the violet comes out after drydown, and violet and lavender meld together) have a purple cast and a dried blossom feel; their slight powderyness makes Bluebeard more than another cologne scent. It's not a particularly complex blend, but the notes work in lovely tandem. At the tail end of wear it grows a little more like cologne, which is too bad—not because it's a strong shift, but because it strips away what makes the scent unique. Throw is low, wear length is about four hours.
Verdict: Well done, surprisingly subtle, unique, but not my style—Bluebeard doesn't capture my imagination or my heart. It was nice to try, and now it's destined for swaps.
LES FLEURS du MAL (GC, Ars Moriendi)
The scents of the blossoms of darkness, condensed into one perfume. Features a rose base, softened with lilac and wisteria.
In the vial: ....floral?
On me: Goes on as a dusty, dull, pastel floral. The rose opens up during drydown and only continues to amp—as rose always does on me—but the other flowers add a powdery note on top, which softens but never quite complicates the rose. Not at all dark, this has a pinkish old-guest-soap-by-the-sink feel, a little powdery, a little grandmaish.
Verdict: Rose is one of my death notes and predominant florals aren't my style, so of course this doesn't work. The other notes keep the rose from attaining screaming levels on my skin, but this is still all rose all the time. One for the swaps.
MILK CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM (LE, Lupercalia 2009: Box of Chocolates)
Gift from
sisterite.In the vial: Fruitiness (cherry?) and chocolate—of the El Dia de los Reyes variety, powdery and milky.
On me: Starts out a bit bitter—whipped butter, not sweet enough to be icing, with a ghost of red fruitiness and a bare implication of powdery chocolate. It takes about half an hour for the scent to grow into what it's meant to be: a sugary milk chocolate haze, with a touch of powder and a hint of cherry, and some buttery richness at skin level. The chocolate is akin to the cocoa in El Dia de Reyes. It's pretty accurate but not particularly enjoyable—this isn't handmade buttercream; it's a tub of premading frosting. Scent-color is milk chocolate. Throw is moderate to high.
Verdict: I hate milk chocolate and dislike frosting, so even at its best it's unlikely that Milk Chocolate Buttercream would have worked for me. Post-drydown, the scent is pretty accurate—but personal taste aside, it doesn't quite have the luscious indulgent quality I'd expect; the chocolate leans powdery, the butter can be stale, I have no idea where the cherry comes from, but most of all it doesn't have a handmade, high-quality buttercream feel. This is a one for the swaps, in the hope that it'll work better on someone else.
THE DEATH OF AUTUMN (LE, Halloween 2007)
Dark amber, dead leaves, khus, saffron, bitter clove, chrysanthemum, camellia, galangal, and a drop of oud.
In the vial: The dark scent of leaf litter and smoke.
On me: Resins and saffron come out on application, followed by smoke and clove—and then dead leaves, and a touch of floral. It's a spicy, dark, organic scent, cloves and leaf litter, warm and smoky, with something almost citric, golden and sweet, at its heart. The citric/floral note makes for a more wearable scent, and well compliments the clove, but it also makes The Death of Autumn less deep and dark than it original appears, which is a little disappointing. After a few hours the scent grows more traditionally dark sweet autumnal BPAL: the cloves fade and there's a boozy wetness, dark and resinous and sweet; it's lovely, but not nearly as unique. Scent-color is golden brown. Throw is moderate high, and wear length is long.
Verdict: The Death of Autumn goes on as a thing of beauty, a dark walk in an autumn forest, resinous and organic, smoky and spicy—but it loses itself along the way. The golden heat it develops is lovely, but not as dark and bold as its earlier stages; the resinous sweetness it has near the end is pretty traditional BPAL, dark and palatable, but familiar. Its not a bad scent on the whole, but I'm sad to see it morph. Still I think I'll keep it, and try to adjust my expectations to enjoy the bulk of the scent rather than mourning the loss of its drydown.
ELF (LE, RPG)
Pale golden musk, honeycomb, amber, parma violet, hawthorne bark, aspen leaf, forest lily, life everlasting, white moss, and a hint of wild berry.
A fairy giveaway from
crystal_star_ss.In the vial: Clean, dry woodiness with a hint of fruit/floral.
On me: A thin, woody, masculine scent. When it goes on it's just barely touched by berry, but the berry amps during drydown—which may be a product on my skin chemistry. It's a dry red scent, masculine, just a touch sweet, blonde wood and berry—but still redder and fuller than I'd expect from the inspiration: the berry is strong and out of place. At times there's a slight cologne-y aspect. Scent-color is luminescent red. Throw is moderate low, and wear length is short.
Verdict: My skin loves berry a little too much, and that may be what sours Elf for me. It's too vibrant, too red, overshadowing the other notes and deviating from the inspiration. Regardless, this scent isn't my style. I'll pass along my imp.
